OPENING TIP
The St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team returns to the Reilly Center for the first time in 2020 to host Atlantic 10 foe UMass Wednesday, Jan. 8. Tip is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bonnies dropped their A-10 opener to Fordham on the road in the Bronx at Rose Hill Gym, 79-53, this past Saturday. Leading the way for the Bonnies was Asianae Johnson who tied her career-high with 18 points. Fordham outscored the Bonnies 27-8 in the third quarter to pull away and earn the victory.

ABOUT UMASS
• UMass head coach Tory Verdi enters his fourth season at the helm of the program. Verdi earned his 50th victory at UMass Saturday against Duquesne. Verdi is 50-56 at UMass and touts a record of 125-124 all-time as a head coach.

• The Minutewomen enter Wednesday's contest with a record of 11-3 and 1-0 in the Atlantic 10. UMass opened A-10 play with an 81-77 victory over Duquesne and are winners of eight consecutive contests. UMass has not lost since a contest against St. John's (N.Y.) on Nov. 25.

• Senior Hailey Leidel is averaging 17.2 points per game and is one of four players scoring in double figures for UMass. Sam Breen, who has seen action in three games after sitting out a year as a mid-year transfer from Penn State last season, is averaging 17.3 points per game and is shooting 59 percent from the floor and 66 percent from beyond the arc.

• On the boards, Breen has averaged 9.7 rebounds in her first three games while Maeve Donnelly leads the team with 67 total rebounds.

• Against the Dukes, five Minutewomen scored in double figures with Leidel leading the way with 18 points. Breen nearly notched a double-double, posting 16 points and hauling in nine rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY
The Bonnies and the Minutewomen will meet for the 62nd time Wednesday evening. The Bonnies have won the last two meetings between the two schools, including a 64-63 thriller in Amherst, Mass. last season. Mckenna Maycock led the Bonnies with 16 points and five rebounds. Bona has not lost to UMass at the Reilly Center since Feb. 4, 2007 and have won 10 out of the last 12 games since then.

BONNIES NOTES

• Junior Emily Calabrese needs only 33 points to reach 500 career points for the Bonnies. Calabrese reached the 400 career rebounds plateau against Fordham on Jan. 4.

• Asianae Johnson has yet to miss a start in her young St. Bonaventure career as she has played and started in all 44 games of her career. Over those 44 games, Johnson has averaged 10.4 points and 4.4 rebounds for her career.

• Johnson has improved from the charity stripe this season, shooting 81.1 percent through 13 games. As a freshman last season, Johnson shot 66.4 percent from the line.

AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Bonnies have been much improved from the free throw line this season, shooting 77.9 percent through 14 games. That mark leads the Atlantic 10 and ranks eighth in the NCAA as of Jan. 6. Last season, the Bonnies shot 68.1 percent from the line as a team.

Contributing to the Bonnies success at the line this season is sophomore Asianae Johnson, who is fifth in the A-10 with an 81.1 free throw percentage. During the 2018-19 season, Johnson shot 66.4 percent from the line.

JOHNSON TAKING OVERAsianae Johnson has been on a tear over the last five contests for the Bonnies. In those five games, Johnson is averaging 14.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The sophomore guard is shooting 49.1 percent from the floor and 79.2 percent from the free throw line while playing 29.4 minutes per game in that span.

BY THE NUMBERS
5 – Asianae Johnson has scored in double figures in five straight games and 10 times this season. She has now reached double figures 21 times in her career.

5.8 – Amanda Oliver leads the Bonnies, hauling in 5.8 rebounds per game. Oliver ranks 13th in the Atlantic 10, grabbing an average of 4.6 defensive rebounds per game.

77.9 – The Bonnies sit atop the Atlantic 10 and rank eighth in the NCAA in free throw percentage this season. On the year, the Brown and White are shooting 77.9 percent from the charity stripe, an 11 percent increase from last season.

90 – The Bonnies have made 90 threes through 14 games this season. Bonaventure is averaging 6.4 made threes per game.

UP NEXT
The Bonnies wrap up a two-game homestand Sunday, Jan. 12 when they welcome George Mason to the Reilly Center. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m.

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